Fasting

[00:00:00] Foreign. [00:00:04] Hey everybody. Pastor Chuck Allen here with another weekday podcast. And today I want to talk about fasting. It's not a topic we talk a lot about, but I gotta tell you, there's something extraordinarily powerful about prayer and fasting. Fasting is one of the most simple practices in the way of Jesus, and somehow it's also one of the most quietly powerful. [00:00:27] Simple, powerful. Sounds like something we could use. [00:00:30] When you strip it down, fasting is less about skipping meals and more about making room. It's like creating space for God to do what only God can do in you. [00:00:43] I would suggest that we take on this quiet, hidden practice. [00:00:48] Jesus assumes his followers will fast, but he steers them away from drama and performance. [00:00:54] In Matthew chapter six, Jesus kind of leans in and says, when you fast, do it not as a show, but in a way that only your father sees and your father, who sees in secret, will reward you. Fasting then is this quiet, secret place where you and God agree that for a little while your deepest hunger is not for food or screens or noise, but for him. [00:01:20] Take it on as like a holy no. [00:01:24] At its core, fasting is simply saying a focused time bound no to something good so you can say a clear, louder yes to God. [00:01:36] A famous author puts it this way. Christian fasting is voluntarily going without a regularly enjoyed gift from God for a spiritual purpose. In a world of constant scrolling, constant snacking, constant stimulation, fasting cuts through the clutter and says Jesus, you're my one thing today. [00:01:57] The power that that happens here is what God does in the space. [00:02:03] Fasting doesn't twist God's arm or upgrade your prayers to priority. [00:02:09] Rather it clears the fog so you can see what's been there and been true all along. That God is near, that God is speaking and leading and sustaining you. [00:02:20] So as you fast, the Holy Spirit often brings hidden motives, unhealed wounds, misplaced dependencies on the surface, not to shame you, but to set you free. [00:02:31] Fasting looks like Jesus in Isaiah 58. [00:02:37] The scripture describes the kind of fasting that God actually cares about. [00:02:42] Loosing chains, freeing the oppressed, sharing your bread with the hungry, welcoming the homeless, clothing the naked. God says that when fasting looks like this, when your self denial turns into love for other people, your lives will begin to glow in the darkness and you'll be like a well watered garden, a gurgling spring that never runs dry. [00:03:07] True fasting doesn't just make you feel spiritual. It makes someone else's life easier or lighter or more helpful. [00:03:17] There's a simple way to start today. [00:03:20] You don't have to start with a 40 day water fast. You can start with one meal or one scroll or one small intentional step. [00:03:29] Maybe it's okay, I'm going to set down Diet Coke for 21 days or I'm going to step away from alcohol for 21 days or whatever it is, whatever that comfort is, then you can just step away from it. [00:03:44] So if you go back and sit in Matthew 6, you can kind of breathe in this prayer. Jesus, my bread. Be my bread. [00:03:54] Jesus, be my bread. Think about that. Jesus, be my bread, the bread of life. [00:04:00] Show me what I'm show me what I'm really hungry for. [00:04:03] And as hunger pangs or little cravings nudge you, let each one become a simple, honest whisper. I want you more than whatever it is you're fasting and trust that in the hidden space and in the hidden places of your heart, your father's doing deep and quiet and powerful work in you. [00:04:23] So I want to encourage you, friend, join me in this 21 days of prayer and fasting. And every time your soul says, wow, I miss again whatever it is use as a time to offer prayer. Lord, I want to trust you more, walk with you more, be with you. I want full proximity with my Savior. Friend, don't see fasting is what you're giving up. See fasting is what you're adding to. God bless you friend. Thanks for joining me on today's weekday podcast.